4 October 2012

September 2012 Empties

I know I say this in every empties post but I love using stuff up! It has definitely become an everyday habit now. I reach for the things which have been used then forgotten about, to try and finish them up. It is satisfying finishing stuff up, it clears a bit of space in my ever growing collection of products and it means I can use newer products that I have held off on because I have so much to use! This month I haven't used as much as in previous months, only 17 things, but they have all been big things, plus a few samples and some stuff from beauty boxes! So what do I think of everything I finished up this month?

Before I found my now-holy-grail volumising hair products, and I mean months back before, I bought The Body Shop Rainforest Volume conditioner. I have never tried any hair care products from The Body Shop before and £4.50 for 250ml isn't too bad so I thought why not! Unfortunately, apart from it smelling lovely, leaving my hair soft and being cruelty free, this product is not for me. It doesn't give me any volume at all! I definitely wouldn't repurchase. The Herbal Essences Fresh Balance Shampoo is a clarifying shampoo. I had been using that until I got my Bumble & Bumble Seaweed Mild Marine shampoo, so this was mostly finished off by my partner. This did leave my hair clean, but I don't think it really cleansed my hair. I wouldn't repurchase this either!

Every girl in the UK has to have owned one of these huge Soap & Glory Clean on Me shower gels before. At least once. And I used to adore them but to be honest I was really willing this to finish. I've just had it so long and they take forever to use up. Plus the smell got a bit tedious! I'm not as much of a Soap & Glory fan as I used to be... so I don't think I'll be picking this up again any time soon either. The Gok Wan Gorgeous body polish is one I got in a set a couple of Christmas' ago, so there wasn't much to use up. I adore the scent of the products from Gok Wan and thing they smell truly heavenly; spicy, sexy and mature. I've never really found Gok Wan's range sold any time other than Christmas, or in any form other than Christmas sets. If you know of where to get them other than at Christmas, let me know! Because I would repurchase all the products from the range that I have tried, including this!

The Amie Spring Clean Cooling clay mask came in my September She Said Beauty box and I loved it! I will definitely be repurchasing, esp as they only cost £1.50 for three sachets! The Betty Hula Champagne & Spicy Shea Butter moisturiser was a sample in the August Lux Box and I love this moisturiser, owning the full sized already! I recently got my hands on some samples of the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation and I used up one of the six samples I had. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet - I will see what I think after using the other samples! The Dirty Works Bare Necessity body lotion is quite a liquidy lotion, but my oh my is it lovely to use! It's so moisturising, sinks in quickly and easily and smells lovely with a scent that sticks around all day. And at just £3.99 for 100ml, it's a bargain lotion that lasts ages!

I got the Dawood Tanner Sicilian Lemon tooth cleanser in my June Lux Box and it lasts three whole months! I loved it as well, it was really refreshing, it tasted nice and it left my teeth squeaky clean. These only cost £3.99 for 100ml and I really would repurchase this because it just lasted so long! The Body Shop Dreams Unlimited body butter is one I have mentioned before in a previous empties post and this is another of the mini pots that I have used up. I really love this scent as it's almost like a perfume!

I finished off a fair bit of skincare in September! Most were sample sizes, some full. Skincare is one thing which I don't think people realise just how long they last! I got the 100% Organics Cleanser to try from 100% Organics and it lasted me a fair while, as I reserved it for heavy makeup days. I've reviewed this cleanser and you can read about it here. It is one I would repurchase espicially as it left my skin looking great! The Balance Me Daily Essentials Pure Skin face wash is one of the best and loveliest face washes I've used! You can read my review of it here, but after I finish my Organic Surge face wash, I think I'll definitely be repurchasing the Balance Me one! The Ginvera Green Tea Exfoliating Marvel Gel was something I had wanted to try for ages and I was lucky enough to find a sample of it in my September She Said Beauty box. I will be reviewing this very soon with another Ginvera product! The Nourish Balance Refining Toning Mist is going to be missed in my skincare routine! I love the scent of fresh apples that is has, but I have two other toners to use up before I repurchase this one! I've reviewed this along with the entire Nourish Balance range which you can find here!

In the July Lux Box we received a sample of the Kelly Edwards Exfoliating Cream. I thought I would give it a go in September.... and oh how I wish I hadn't! Never in my life have I smelt such a revolting, disgusting and stomach churning product in my life. And what was worse was that as it was a skincare product and on my face, it was right next to my nose and all I could smell! I didn't finish up this entire sample, I just couldn't. Using it was making me feel sick! So you've guessed it, I would never, ever purchase this product! A product I had a few go's left in and thought I better finish up was the Le Belle Natural Skincare Melting Exfoliating Balm. I was clinging on to this so much, as it's so blooming lovely! But I did finish it up and when I next run out of exfoliator, I am definitely picking up the full size! You can see my review of it along with some other Le Belle products, here. And finally, I finished off an Elizabeth Arden Sheer White Pure Intensive serum which I was trying out for Treatmentadviser.comI don't think this product really did anything, so I wouldn't invest in the full size!

So those are my empties and my thoughts on each! Do you like any of these products and use them yourself? What did you get using up in September? Be sure to leave a link to your empties post or video, I love checking them out and seeing what everyone has been using!

Bummer that the Body Shop shampoo didn't work for you--I find that lots of volumizing shampoos don't seem to live up to their claims. Definitely interested to know what you think of the UD Naked Skin foundation once you finish the samples!

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